Ditching-machine.



PATENTED AUG. 7, 1906.

J. B. HILL. DITOHING MACHINE. APPLIOATION FILED MAE- 12, 7.4.906.

4 Sauna-5mm 1.

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A TTORNE Y5 PATENT-ED AUG. 7, 1938.

J..B. HILL. DITGHING MACHINE. APPLIOATIOH FILED MAR. '12, 1906 4 signs-sum 2.

W1 TNESSESQ A TTORNE VS Nosza,2os. I PATENTED AUG. 7, 1906. J. B. HILL.

DITGHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAB.'12, 1906.

4 SHEEN-SHEET 3.

JNVENTO'R.

A TTORNE Y5 .PATENTED AUG. 7, 1906.

- M No'. 828,208.

J. B. HILL. DITGHING MACHINE, APPLICATION FILED MAR. 12, 1906.

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WITNESSES: g

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" A'TifORNEYS 20 wheel free and clear drivingmeans for t UNITED sures.

PATENT: ornion;

JAMES B, HILL, OF FINDLAY, OHIO.

' nrroHme-MAcHiNE.

are. seaaos:

" rt'azz whom it wmem Beit known that 1, JAMES B.HILL, a citi- 7 zen of the United States, residing atFindlay, in the county of Hancock and State of- Ohio, have invented a new and useful Ditching- Machine, of which the-following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved ditching-machine of the t e illustrated in Letters Patent of the Umted States, Nor 523,7 90, granted to myself on the 31st day of "Among the objects of the present inven- "tion are to' improve the construction of the 5 -715 rotary ditching or excavating wheel, to facilitate the elevation of'dirt or excavated material and to avoid friction between the excavated material and stationary surfaces, to provide means for keeiping the excavatingom adhering sticky substances, to lighten and improve the bucket construction, to improve the supporting and e. excavating-wheel, and

to generally improve and simplifythe'con- 2 5 struction and operation of the device With'a view to specially adapt the same to operate .in gumbo and similar sticky, waxy, and wet soi s.

i With these and other ends in view,-which will readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists I in' the improved'construction and novel arrangement and combination'of parts, which 1 will behereinafter fully described, and par.

5: ticularly pointed out in the claims.

. In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and preferred form of the invention, it being, however, understood that no limitation is necessarily made to the preo cise/structural details therein exhibited, but

that changes, alterations, and modifications within the scope of the invention may be made when desired.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side eleva- 4 5 tion showing the excavating-wheel and a portion of the carrying frame of theditchmgmachine constructs in accordance with the I principles of the invention. Fig. 2 is a ide elevat on, on an enlarged scale, of a portion of the same. Fig. is a sectional view, en-

larged,- taken on the plane indicated by the I line 3 3 in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a sectional view,

Specification of Letters Patent. 'Apnliatiqn filed March 12, 1906- Serial No. 305,620.

reference to Fig. 5 of the drawings.

Patented Aug. 7, 1 906.

line'4 4 in Fig. 1. enlarged, taken on the plane indicated by the enlarged, taken on the plane indicated by the Fig. 5 isa sectional view,

line 5 5 in Fig. 1. Fi 6 is a sectional View? in Fig. 1.

in Fig. 1. .Fig. 8 is'a plan view of a portion taken on the plane in icated by the line 66;. I I

Flg. is a sectional detail-view;- taken on the plane indicated by the line 7 '7 of the endless carrier-used in connection with j the excavating-wheel.

Corresponding parts in the several figures Y .are indicated throughoutby similar charac ters of reference.

The present invention, as herein previously stated, is in the nature of an im rovement of the device shown in Letters reference is madeto said patent for the general construction of a traction'ditching-machine of the class to which the present invention belongs, it being understood that the present invention is confined mainly to the excavating-wheel and related arts.

1 designates the frame whic supports the excavating-Wheel, and it is to be understood that this frame is to be supported for adjustment in the same manner as the corresponding frame member in' the patent to which re erence has been made. i

The excavating-wheel is com osed of two erably made of sheet-steel of suitable dimensions to insure strength and durability. The. two rims are connected together and s aced apart by the approximately U-sha e cutting members 3 3, which are suitab y bolted upon or otherwise connected with the rims 2 2 at their opposite edges. The rims 2 2 are furthermore connected by the approximately U-shaped hoods 4 4, which are disposed slightly in rear of the cutting members 3,

each of said hoods being composed of two I atent No. 523,790, previously issued to myself, and

. rims-or annular members 2 2, w ich are pref side cutters being secured to theindividual rims 2 2, and said side cutters being sloped backward, as will be clearly'seen in the draw'-.

ings, so as to enable grass roots and similar obstructions to slide off said cutters without interfering with their successful operation.

Upon the outer faces of the rims 2 2'there are bolted or otherwise secured internalspurgears 9, Whichare engaged by the driving or operating mechanism, to be hereinafter ,de-' scribed. The teeth'of the said spur gears or segmental racks are spaced from the inner edges of the rims 2-, so as to enable said'rims to engage the annularly-grooved supportingwhe'els'10, 11, and 12. Theframe l is provided with bearings 13 for a shaft 1 1, carrying wheels 10. The wheels 11 and 12 are mounted upon shafts 15 and 16, supported bymeans of V-shaped braces 17 and-18, that are suitably connected with theframe 1 by means of adjusting-nuts-lQ, whereby the braces may be adjusted to compensate for wear upon the supporting-wheels and engaging parts. The. frame 1 is als o'provided with bearings 20 for a shaft 21, which is adapted to be driven from some suitable source of power connected with the machine, ofwhich the present invention forms a part. The shaft 21 carries spur wheels or pinions 22, having annular grooves 23 for the reception of the inner edges ofthe rims 2 2', said spur wheels or pinions being also inmesh with the internal spur-gears 9, which, as hereinbefore stated, are bolted ex'teriorl upon the rims 2 2. The excavating-whee as will'thu's be seen, is supported for rotation by the wheels 10, 11,- 12, and 22 and is adapted to be continuously. driven by the Wheels or 'pinions22.

-Upon one of the arms. of the V shaped brace 18 there are secured arms or brackets 23, carrying idle pinions or guide-wheels 24. Similar idlers 25 and 26 are mounted upon shafts 27 and 28, which are supported, respectively, in the frame 1 and in brackets or braces 29, extendingupwardlyfrom said frame. These idlers serve to support an endlesscarrier consisting of a chain 30, the links of which are provided with overlapping plates 31, which areofa suitable length to fit between the rims 2 2 of. the excavatingwheel, the endless conveyer.thusformed being supported adjacent to the ascending side of the .wheel and with its ascendinglead in proximity" to the inner edges, of the rims 2- 2.. iThG GIKllGSS conveyer is driven by asprocket-wheel 32 u onthe driven shaft-.21, said sprocket-whee engaging, the endless chain 3O,.-,w.hich, v as willbe readily under. StOOCl', ,is. driven-a a speed. [exactly re tespondi'ng with the speed of the excavatingwheel. The arms or brackets 23' support clogged with dirt from thesides of the ditch or trench which is being excavated. Bolted upon or otherwise suitably connected with the bracket members 29 are a pair of forwardly-extending arms 34 and 35 of unequal.

length and provided with upturned or upwardly-eirtendlng terminal blades 36 and 37,

which lie adjacent to the inner sides of the rims 2.2-and constituting cutters or scrapers that serve to clear the rims from adhesive or sticky matter of any kind. By making the arms 34 35 of unequal length the blades 36 and 37 will be supported one in advance of the other, the distance between said blades bein in practice abouttwelve inches, which has been found productive of the best results. Theblades 36 and 37 are preferably provided with curved inturned ends, as will e best seen at 38 in Fig: 4 of the drawin s, so as to adapt them to the curvature of the cutters andthe bucket members connected with "the rims. Scrapers, as 40, are suitably supported upon the frame 1 .to engage the outer sides of-the rims of the excavatingwheel for the purpose of keeping the latter free from adhering dirt. v

42 designates the transverselydisposed carrier, one of the shafts of which, 43:. is suit-- ably connect'ed'with the driven shaft 21, so

as to receivemo'tion fromthe latter. This carrier, however, is identical with the carrier shown in my former patent, and it is not to be considered as a part of the present inven tion. l

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings hereto annexed, theope ration and advantages of'thi's invention will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which it appertains. By the employment of the endless carrienincluding the chain 30, the material that is be-' ing excavated will be elevated without frictional contact with adjacent surfaces. Loss or paste of power is'thus under all circumstances avoided, and this is especially important when operating in wet or sticky Soil, which would adhere to adjacent surfaces with such tenacity as to seriously interfere with the operation of the machine. For the same reason theimproved bucket construction is of great importance. The cagelike structures formed by the hoods 4 and the resilient'rods 7 will form ellicicnt coi-itainers :for the lumps of material that are being excavated, but will permit suchliimps or masses of mz iterial'gto be, dumped or discharged withoutdiilicul When sticky." orv waxy soil becupics close bucket structure,- it is ainatter of serious. dillicultyqtoj discharge such material, diving .to the suction created between the material and tlie adjacent walls of the i-ontaii'iing structure. By employing a cage-like strucm ca ".diificii'lty is completely overcome;

and the discharge of the material will be facilitated and accelerated, when such cagelike structure, as is the case under the present invention, is composed in part of resilient rods or bars having free, ends whereby such rods-or bars are permitted to vibrate under the motion of the machine, thereby greatly assisting in discharging the contents. j'lhe discharge of the contents is furthermore; greatly assisted by the blades 36 -and'37,

Y which serve to loosen the material from the I wheels 10, 11, 12,-and 22.

inner sides of the rims 2 2. These blades, it" will be noticed, are disposed directly above the carrier 42-, which receivesthe material discharged from the, excavating Wheel and conveys such'material to oneside; of themastrain upon the gearing 9 will thus be avoided, and. the stren th and stability of the structure will be 'greatlyincreased.

, Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is- 1. An excavating-wheel having annular rims, in combination with suitably-supported annularly-grooved rotary members directly engaging) said rims.-

2. A ucket for ditching-machines, comprising a relatively rigid member adapted to be connected to the dredging-wheel, and

a plurality of resilient members suitably spaced apart and secured at their front endsv to'the first member and supported i'reeat their rear ends.

3. A bucket for ditchinganachines, com

prising a relatively rigid member at'the frontend of the bucket, and an openwork structure secured at its front portion to'the said memi 'rims or; side plates and cage like bucket structures connecting and spacing 'said side ber and supported free at its rear portion. 4. Annularly-grooved rotarysupporting members arranged in pairs and spaced apart in the arc of a circle, and an excavatingj porting members, an internal gear connected with the eXcavatmg-Wh eel, and a'pimon upon one of the supporting members meshing with wheel having annular rims or side plates directly engaging the annular grooves of the rotary supporting members.

5. Annularly-grooved rotary supporting members arranged in pairs and spaced apart in. the arc of a circle, an excavating-Wheel having annular rims or side plates directly engaging ii -the grooves of the rotary supsaid gear. i

6. Annularly grooved rotary supporting members spaced apart in the arc of a circle,

' an'eXcavating-wheel having annular rims or side plates directly engaging the annular grooves of the rotary, supporting members,

ends converging toiorm buc '8'; AneXcavatingf-Wheel havingannular l Direct stress or Y an internal gear connected with thef'excavafig ing -wheel, and a pinion connectedwith one of the supporting members and mes'hing with said-gear; 1

:7; An excavating-wheel having annular" rims or side plates, hoods connecting and spacing said side plates, and rods-connected,

iwithsaid hoods and. having free terminal et structures;

rims or "side' lates, hOOds cOnnect' spacing vsaid side plates eachfofssaid :oods' being composed, of two lates or --members, ,and'resil-i'ent rods secure between-the hood,

members and having free ends converging to form bucket structures, .1 1-1 structures connecting and spacing said. side plates, in combination with an endless car-' rier supported i'n'teriorly of the wheel adjacent to the ascending side of thel'atter.

rims or side plates, and cage-like bucket structures connecting and spacing said side plates, in combination with an endless carrier supported interiorlv of the Wheel ad'a cent to the ascending side ofthe latter and including a chain vhaving overlapping plates extending between the rims of the wheel.

11. An excavating-wheel having annular rims or side plates, and bucket structures 9. An excavating -vvhe el.havingiannular rims orside plates, [andcage-like .bncket- 10. excavating- Wheel having annular connecting and spacing said side plates, in

combination with an endless carrier supported interiorl of the wheel adjacent to the as{ pendingsi e of the latter and including a" chain having overlapping plates extending between the rims of the wheel, internal'gear's upon the, Wheel, a driven shaft having pin:

ions meshing with said internal gears, and a sprocketwheel upon the driven shaft ,meshing withthechainof the endless carrier.-

12. An excavatingwheel having annular plates, in combination with an'endless car rier supported interiorly of the Wheel adjacent to the ascending side of'the latter, and fenders or guardssupported'adjacent to the sides of the endless carrier.

13. An excavating-wheel having annular ios rims or side plates, and bucket structures connecting and spacing said side plates, in

combination with suitably-supportedblades interiorly engaging said side lates.

1.4;. An excavating-Wheel aving annular rims or side plates,'and bucket structures connec'tmg and spac ng saldsrde plates, in

combination with suitably-su portedblades interior ly engaging said si e plates and spaced apart one in advance of the-other.

15. A11 eXcavating-whee'lhaving annular rims or side-plates, and bucket structures connecting and spacing said side plates, a

supporting-frame, rotary supporting means above and below said frame interiorly'engag ingthe 'am iular rims of the excavating-wheel,

I and s'crape'rs and cleaners supported upon the 5 frame and engaging the outer sides of the rims of the Wheel.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in thepresence of two-wltnesses,

' JABKHES B. HILL. t Witnesses:

C. B. D'wreems, T. H. MQCONICA. 

